Thursday, August 28, 2008 Gov't rejects autonomous region for lumads
MALACAÑANG officials on Wednesday turned down the call of indigenous people of Mindanao or the lumads for the establishment of their own autonomous region following moves to create a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the concerns of the lumad are already being addressed and their rights are guaranteed under the Indigenous Peoples Right Act (Ipra).
They added that the lumads would just have to live with the Ipra law, acknowledging that it just has to be implemented properly.
"They (lumads) are part of our tribe people group in Mindanao. They have their own historical claim over their ancestral domain, but we have the Ipra law that will respond to this," Dureza said.
Ermita said they understand the concern of the lumads, assuring that they would not be covered by the proposed BJE.
"The issue about lumads came out following the ancestral domain agenda with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front). I think the Ipra law answers the concern of the lumads," he said.
Representatives of 13 indigenous communities from Mindanao and Palawan last Monday gathered, calling for their own Autonomous Region for the Lumad of Mindanao.
The group is also critical of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) between the MILF and the government. They said they should have been consulted, as many areas proposed to be included are part of their ancestral domain.
The proposed MOA-AD seeks to expand the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which covers the provinces of Sulu, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan and Marawi City. (JMR/Sunnex)
